1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to conditioning fibrous material and more particularly to regulating the humidity of seed cotton in a cotton gin. Cotton ginners have ordinary skill in this art.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is often desirable to condition fibrous material. One of the necessary conditioning steps is to condition seed cotton before it is ginned at a cotton gin. In this context "GIN" sometimes means the step, operation, or procedure by which the cotton lint is separated from the cotton seed. The term, "SEED COTTON" is used to indicate the cotton as harvested before the seed has been separated from the lint. Herein, the term,"FIBROUS MATERIAL" is used to include fibers which are not necessarily spun into yarn or thread or woven or connected by adhesive into a mat.
Seed cotton is a fibrous material according to this application.
It is known that cotton can be processed more easily at certain levels of humidity. It is customary in cotton gins to dry seed cotton if it has excessive moisture or to humidify seed cotton if it is too dry.
Drying systems are well recognized. For example, TRUMP U. S. Pat. Nos. 790,162 and HAAS 1,778,318 disclose dryers.
Also many patents have been issued for drying cotton and particularly seed cotton for example, BENNETT 1,871,773 and SMITH 2,820,306.
JACKSON 4,845,860 discloses a fountain dryer for seed cotton.
It has been recognized that better conditioning, either during drying or humidification, is achieved if there is a relative movement between the air and the fibrous material.